Dieter Eilts
Encyclopedia
Dieter Eilts was an acclaimed German
footballer and was last the trainer of Hansa Rostock. His nickname was the Alemão of East Frisia, for his similarity with to Brazilian midfielder Alemão. The word Alemão means "German" in Portuguese (but then again, the Brazilian player earned his nickname precisely because of his blond "German" appearance).
, had the reputation of being the quintessential midfield blue-collar worker. He played 390 matches in the Bundesliga
for Werder Bremen, his only club during his whole professional career, and scored seven goals. He was also lauded as one of the most responsible and sensible players of the league, never appearing in the yellow press and always leading by example. Eilts is regarded as one of the finest discoveries of legendary coach Otto Rehhagel
.
Eilts also was a regular with the German squad, collecting 31 caps. His finest games came in the 1996 European Championship, when he, Matthias Sammer
and Thomas Helmer
formed the defensive backbone of the team that won the trophy.
Dieter Eilts went to EURO '96 with the reputation of an outstanding club servant with Werder Bremen under future competition hero Otto Rehhagel, but at international level he was relatively inexperienced and had never previously participated in a major tournament. There were doubts in the German media over the wisdom of handing him the midfield anchorman role in England, but the wiry East Frisian surprised everybody with the class and composure of his play. It was his tactical appreciation and willingness to drop back into defence that enabled sweeper Matthias Sammer to make many dangerous sorties into enemy territory as his team let in just three goals, one of which came in the final after Eilts had been forced off due to injury. He closed his international career in 1997 with 31 caps, six of those coming in England, but captained Bremen until 2002, clocking up 390 Bundesliga appearances over a 17-year period. He won two German championships, three German Cups and, in 1992, the UEFA European Cup Winners' Cup. Since retirement he has coached the Germany Under-19 and U21 squads.
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
footballer and was last the trainer of Hansa Rostock. His nickname was the Alemão of East Frisia, for his similarity with to Brazilian midfielder Alemão. The word Alemão means "German" in Portuguese (but then again, the Brazilian player earned his nickname precisely because of his blond "German" appearance).
Player career
Eilts, a native of East FrisiaEast Frisia
East Frisia or Eastern Friesland is a coastal region in the northwest of the German federal state of Lower Saxony....
, had the reputation of being the quintessential midfield blue-collar worker. He played 390 matches in the Bundesliga
Fußball-Bundesliga
The Fußball-Bundesliga is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of Germany's football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. It is contested by 18 teams and operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the 2. Bundesliga...
for Werder Bremen, his only club during his whole professional career, and scored seven goals. He was also lauded as one of the most responsible and sensible players of the league, never appearing in the yellow press and always leading by example. Eilts is regarded as one of the finest discoveries of legendary coach Otto Rehhagel
Otto Rehhagel
Otto Rehhagel is a German football coach and former football player. Along with Helmut Schön, Ottmar Hitzfeld, Udo Lattek and Hennes Weisweiler, he is considered one of the most successful German managers....
.
Eilts also was a regular with the German squad, collecting 31 caps. His finest games came in the 1996 European Championship, when he, Matthias Sammer
Matthias Sammer
Matthias Sammer is a retired German football player and coach who is now working as technical director of the DFB . He played as a midfielder, and later in his career as a sweeper....
and Thomas Helmer
Thomas Helmer
Thomas Helmer is a former German footballer.His preferred playing position was sweeper, but he was primarily deployed as a central defender....
formed the defensive backbone of the team that won the trophy.
Dieter Eilts went to EURO '96 with the reputation of an outstanding club servant with Werder Bremen under future competition hero Otto Rehhagel, but at international level he was relatively inexperienced and had never previously participated in a major tournament. There were doubts in the German media over the wisdom of handing him the midfield anchorman role in England, but the wiry East Frisian surprised everybody with the class and composure of his play. It was his tactical appreciation and willingness to drop back into defence that enabled sweeper Matthias Sammer to make many dangerous sorties into enemy territory as his team let in just three goals, one of which came in the final after Eilts had been forced off due to injury. He closed his international career in 1997 with 31 caps, six of those coming in England, but captained Bremen until 2002, clocking up 390 Bundesliga appearances over a 17-year period. He won two German championships, three German Cups and, in 1992, the UEFA European Cup Winners' Cup. Since retirement he has coached the Germany Under-19 and U21 squads.
Trainer career
After his player career, Eilts trained the German U19 squad, and from the 6 August 2004, he was the coach of the German U21 squad. Latterly, he was coaching German second league team Hansa Rostock, but was released from his contract on 6 March 2009 after poor league results.Honours
- 2x German championshipFußball-BundesligaThe Fußball-Bundesliga is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of Germany's football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. It is contested by 18 teams and operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the 2. Bundesliga...
: 1987–88, 1992–93 - 3x German cupDFB-PokalThe DFB-Pokal or DFB Cup is a German knockout football cup competition held annually. 64 teams participate in the competition, including all clubs from the Bundesliga and the 2nd Bundesliga. It is considered the second most important national title in German football after the Bundesliga...
: 1990–91, 1993–94 and 1998–99 - European Cup Winners' CupUEFA Cup Winners' CupThe UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a football club competition contested annually by the most recent winners of all European domestic cup competitions. The cup is one of the many inter-European club competitions that have been organised by UEFA. The first competition was held in the 1960–61 season—but...
: 1991–92 - UEFA European ChampionshipUEFA European Football ChampionshipThe UEFA European Football Championship is the main football competition of the men's national football teams governed by UEFA . Held every four years since 1960, in the even-numbered year between World Cup tournaments, it was originally called the UEFA European Nations Cup, changing to the current...
: 1996